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Spokespersons of the University Research Focuses and Emerging Fields receive their certificates at the beginning of the new funding period.

Profiled – New Research Focuses of the University of Potsdam

In 2025, the University will sharpen its profile with new University Research Focuses. In addition to the already existing “Cognitive Sciences” and …
Dr Katharina Rein in her office.

Threefold Magic – Technology, Tricks, and Show Effects

Sophisticated card tricks, floating objects, or alleged mind reading: Hardly anyone has not been amazed by the illusions and spectacles of …
A path of devastation along the Teesta River. The flood undercut the slopes in many places, triggering landslides.

Glacial Lakes and Climate Change – Lessons Learned from the Catastrophic Sikkim Flood in India in October 2023

Media Information 31-01-2025 / Nr. 011

During the night of October 3 to 4, 2023, thousands of people along the Teesta River were forced to leave their homes. The river, which flows through …
Maja Linke in her office.

33 Questions to Maja Linke, Professor of Artistic Practice Specialising in Painting/Graphics

In what way is asking a question an emancipatory act? And what does responding have to do with responsibility? Is it possible to conduct artistic …
Robot Nao in the office together with Katharina Kühne

Did You Know … That Potsdam Robots Speak Berlin Dialect? – Katharina Kühne researches our relationship to artificial agents

“Well done, enough work for today,” says Katharina Kühne. Then she presses a button on Nao’s chest; the robot sits down, and the blue light in its …
Bust of David admiring himself in a mirror on a pink background. Symbolic representation of narcissism.

“Narcissism Has Many Faces” – Dr. Ramzi Fatfouta on the unknown aspects of a personality trait

We all want to feel valuable and important. However, some people swing very strongly between grandiose fantasies and extreme sensitivity to criticism …
Aileen Oeberst in her office

Misjudgments and False Memories – The newly appointed professor Aileen Oeberst knows the pitfalls of human information processing

To err is human – this is a commonplace truth. Fortunately, when we make mistakes, the impacts are usually less serious than we fear. But there are …
Kirsten Sachse im Labor

My Workday – Between Shaking Flasks and Petri Dishes

“I love my amebae because they are more like us than you might think,” says Kirsten Sachse. Amebae are social unicellular organisms with a diameter of …
Martin Fischer in seinem Büro.

If I Could, I Would … Suspend the Laws of Nature! – with cognitive scientist Prof. Martin Fischer, Ph.D.

At least in the lab. My topic is “Embodied Cognition”. To understand it better, one of the things I would like to do is defy gravity. In the past, the …
A resilient democracy needs a committed and active civil society.

Democracy in a Downward Spiral – How Behavioral Science Can Strengthen Our Political Resilience

Media information 06-01-2025 / No. 001

Democracies all over the world are under pressure with a very real danger of them becoming increasingly autocratic. But time and again, democratic …